Runners trek from Applegate Lake to Gold Beach

Be wary of relay racers on rural roads along that 211-mile stretch beginning early Friday morning at the lake

If you plan to take a country drive Friday or Saturday, you'll want to drive extra carefully along the roads from Applegate Lake to Gold Beach.

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By Paul Fattig

MailTribune.com

By Paul Fattig

Posted Jun. 20, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 20, 2013 at 2:50 AM

By Paul Fattig

Posted Jun. 20, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 20, 2013 at 2:50 AM

» Social News

If you plan to take a country drive Friday or Saturday, you'll want to drive extra carefully along the roads from Applegate Lake to Gold Beach.

Come early Friday morning, the around-the-clock Wild Rogue Relay Race begins at 6 a.m. Friday, with a staggered start of up to 500 runners stepping out at Seattle Bar campground on Applegate Lake.

From there, the participants in the inaugural relay race will run some 211 miles on rural Jackson, Josephine and Curry county roads leading across U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, state and county lands.

"There will definitely be more traffic, both motor and foot, on those roads than you would normally see," said Jim Whittington, spokesman for the BLM's Medford District.

"If you are going to be out there, be aware of what is going on and take the appropriate safety measures," he said.

In addition, there will be 36 exchange points where runners are expected to congregate in lager numbers, he said.

"That's where racers will be handing off to each other," he said, reiterating that drivers need to be extremely watchful in those areas.

In teams of six or 12 members, the runners will push ahead day and night until reaching the Curry County Fairgrounds in Gold Beach on Saturday evening.

The event organizer is Sourwood Running LLC of Central Point. The 36-hour-long race is expected to draw more than 40 teams with each runner completing at least three legs of the race, according to organizers. Each leg averages six miles, they noted.